The Dog Thief

Thirteen-year-old Martin has to navigate loneliness and guilt in this moving solo feature debut from Chilean Vinko Tomičić Salinas. The film premiered at Tribeca Film Festival earlier this year.

13-year old Martin is an orphan working as a shoeshine boy in La Paz, Bolivia. He finds hope in his best client, the lonely tailor Señor Novoa, who owns a German Shepherd who he cares for like his child. Martin is motivated by a potential reward and forms a plan to get more money out of Señor Novoa.

With inspiration from the Italian Neorealism, The Dog Thief depicts themes such as social differences, loneliness and the importance of community in an almost meditative way.

The film is a beautiful portrait of La Paz, and director Tomičić has himself said that the film couldn’t have taken place anywhere else. Cinematographer Sergio Armstrong, most known for his work with Pablo Larrain, shoots La Paz as if it was the liveliest city in the world.

Amalie Tilset

Director

Vinko Tomičić Salinas (b. 1987) is a Chilean director, writer and producer. He studied sound and image design at the University of Buenos Aires, and he founded the production company Calamar Cine in 2014. The Dog Thief is his solo feature debut, and was developed through Cannes Cinefoundation Residency and the Venice Biennale Collage Cinema program.

This film is part of